REDUCING Britain's trade barriers with the European Union will improve the growth prospects of both, chancellor Rachel Reeves will tell her euro zone counterparts on Monday (9) when she meets the group for the first time.
Labour government is pushing to reset ties with the EU after coming to power in July and improve trading relations in a bid to raise growth.
Labour says that previous Tory governments damaged EU relations during fractious negotiations to leave the bloc, and Reeves' address at the so-called "Eurogroup" will be the first by a chancellor since Brexit.
"I believe that a closer economic relationship between the UK and the EU is not a zero-sum game. It's about improving both our growth prospects," Reeves will tell euro zone finance ministers, according to extracts from her speech.
"The reset in relations is about doing what is the best interests of our shared economies and those that depend on it. That means breaking down barriers to trade."
Prime minister Keir Starmer is aiming to reduce border checks by agreeing a new veterinary agreement, but has pledged not to rejoin the bloc's single market or customs union, and has ruled out any return to freedom of movement.
With the EU demanding an improved youth mobility scheme, both sides have acknowledged that negotiations - expected to start in earnest next year - will not be straightforward.
Despite those differences, Reeves said that talks with the EU could be productive and would not be defined by the "division and chaos" of the past few years.
"We want a relationship built on trust, mutual respect, and pragmatism," she will say, according to the extracts.
"A mature, business-like relationship where we can put behind us the low ambitions of the past and move forward, focused instead on all that we have in common."
(Reuters)
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, in Scunthorpe, northern England, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Dominic Lipinski
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. (Representational image: iStock)
FBU chief raises concern over rise in racist online posts by union members
THE FIRE Brigades Union (FBU) and other trade unions are increasingly concerned about a rise in racist and bigoted online comments by their own members and officials, according to Steve Wright, the FBU’s new general secretary, speaking to the Guardian.
Wright said internal inquiries have revealed dozens of cases involving members using racist slurs or stereotypes, often aimed at asylum seekers.
He said similar issues were reported in other unions, prompting a joint campaign to counter false narratives around immigration and race promoted by far-right groups online.
“People with far-right views are becoming more brazen in what they do on social media, and I’ve witnessed it with my own union around disciplinary cases and the rhetoric of some of our own members,” Wright said to the newspaper.
He added, “Some of our members and sometimes our reps have openly made comments which are racist and bigoted. In my time in the fire service, that has gone up.”
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. A formal statement addressing far-right narratives will be launched at the union’s annual conference in Blackpool next month.
Wright cited the influence of social media and figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage as factors contributing to these incidents. “It feels like an itch that we’ve got to scratch,” he said.
The FBU barred a former official last year for allegedly endorsing racist content on X, including posts from Britain First and Tommy Robinson.
Wright also warned that the union could strike if the government moves to cut frontline fire services.